Composite branch for artificial trees protected by twig members attached by a metal clamp



3,499,818 Y TwIG March 10, 1970 s. D. KENT COMPOSITE BRANCHFORARTIFICVIAL TREES PROTECTED B MEMBERS ATTACHED BY A METAL CLAMPFileanec. 2o, lesa United States Patent O U.S. Cl. 161-24 7 ClaimsABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The outer portion of the length of the branchconsists of a number of substantially identical but separate twigs. Thetwigs are uniformly more pliable and of thinner twisted wire throughoutthan the remaining stiffer and thicker inner part of the branchconstituting the limb. The twigs are compactly fastened by a sheet metalclip to the otherwise hazardous extreme cut and sharp outer end portionof the stiffer limb. The twigs are yieldable extensions of the limb andmove out of the way when pushed. The needles of the limb, and of all ofthe twigs regardless on which side of the limb the twigs are arranged,are inclined away from the inner end of the twig or limb as the case maybe. The inner end portions of the twigs are parallel to and overlap theouter end portion of the limb suiciently to conceal and guard thehazardous end surface of the limb from being touched and to permit allsaid end portions to be compacted under pressure by the fastening clipwith friction producing needles caught therebetween.

This invention relates to branches for artificial Christmas trees andespecially to that type made of twisted wire and plastic fringe cut tosimulate tree needles. The limb members of branches have been made ofrelatively large diameter twisted wire, which though bendable, enablesthe branch to sustain the bending and other stresses to which it issubjected when in use. At least one such limb member has usuallyextended throughout the entire length of the branch from one end to theother end and is made of relatively thick wir-e. Other relatively shortside twig members have been secured in various ways to an intermediatepoint of the limb member as is shown for example, in Patent No.3,380,487. In this patent however, the inclined artificial twig needlesslant in the wrong direction on one side of the limb of the branch,thatis, they slant toward the inner end of the twig instead of towardthe free end of the twig.

To avoid this unnatural appearance of the needles, trees have been madewith the needles projecting at right angles to the twisted wires of thetwigs, so that it becomes immaterial from which side of the limb member,the twig member projects.

The limb member nevertheless, extends throughout the entire length ofthe branch and substantially resists bending because of the type of wireused therein. Furthermore, the wire cutters used during the manufactureof the limb members inevitably leave sharp end edges of considerableextent on the wires. Grinding off the great number of sharp edges `wouldbe so costly as to be prohibitive. Such sharp edges or corners areexposed to a large extent at the end of the branch and are a source ofdanger to those passing by or working on the tree. They can inflictserious injury to children playing near the tree and to unwary persons.The danger of injury is aggravated by the character of the relativelystiff wire which does not readily yield or move out of the lway onimpact, as when touched or struck by a person accidentally or otherwiseduring close contact with the tree or its parts occurring when erecting,ornamenting or assembling the tree.

In addition, the shiny cut ends of considerable area on the relativelylarge diameter limb wires are also diflicult to conceal from view anddetract materially from the proper natural appearance of the tree..Artificial fringe needles at the branch end, which may be deliberatelybent over the cut ends of the wires in various ways, are usuallyinsufficient in number to conceal or protect said ends in the attempt topreserve the otherwise natural appearance of the assembled brancheswhich project from the trunk. Green paint on the exposed wire endsurfaces is usually ineffective as camouflage and may actually result inattracting attention to the defective appearance of the branches ratherthan lremedying the blemish. The twig needles are generally green incolor. It is extremely diicult to match precisely, the green shade ofthe plastic needles.

The outermost parts of the prior art branches including the limb andtwig members, have also been bent upwardly and in other directions tosimulate the appearance of natural trees. While the relatively highstiffness of the limb wires is necessary to enable them to supportgifts, ornaments and the like hung on the branch without excessivebending of the limb member, high stiffness has disadvantages. The stiffbranch end is not only a hazard as above explained, but more force isyrequired to impart the desired bend to the stiff limb wires than to thetwig wlres.

In natural trees, the limbs are generally smaller in diameter at theirfree ends than at their inner ends, but this is not the case in articialbranches in which relatively large diameter wire extends throughout theentire length of the branch.

This invention is therefore directed to the provision of a compositebranch having a limb member of adequate strength and stiffness forsupporting purposes while having an outer end edge substantiallyconcealed and protected at a point between the ends of the branch by theend parts of the twigs, and having a side twig member and alimb-extending twig member, both twig members being relatively small atthe end edges of the wires thereof so that the end surfaces are easilyconcealed and protected, the needles all slanting toward the free end ofthe twig member, the limb member terminating at a point intermediate ofthe inner and outer ends of the complete branch so that the danger ofinjury of a person coming into contact with the free end part of any ofthe members of the branch is considerably reduced.

The invention is further directed to the provision of a composite branchhaving a relatively stiff limb member of relatively thick wire and anumber of cantilever extensions of said limb member composed ofrelatively thin and yieldable wire and forming in part side twigs and inpart a member generally coplanar with the limb member and of greaterflexibility.

The above and other objects of the invention will be clear from thedescription 'which follows and from the drawings, in which FIG. 1 is afragmentary elevational view, partly in section, of a conventional trunkfor an artificial tree and of a pair of branches held thereby andarranged in diferent planes, one in the plane of the paper and the otheroutstanding from the plane'of the paper, the wires and the fringeneedles of the branches being shown more or less diagrammatically.

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary elevational view on an enlarged scale of theouter end portion of the branch showing the relatively thin andyieldable extension of the relatively thick and stiff limb member in theform of a bent twig member and also showing two side twig members spreadslightly apart.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken on theline 3 3 of FIG. 2 and showingthe fastening clip for the members.

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary exploded elevational view of the wires at theadjacent parts of the limb and twig members showing said partsoverlapping preparatory to the clipping of the parts together, theneedles of the members being indicated diagrammatically.

In the practical embodiment of the invention shown by way of example,the conventional tree trunk is provided with numerous holes as 11, 12and the like for the reception of the inner tip part 13 of a typicallimb member 14 of a branch. Said tip 13 is bent at the desired angle tothe remainder of the limb member 14 thereby to arrange the branch toextend from the trunk in the desired position, when the tip is insertedinto the hole selected.

The limb member is made of the relatively thick wires 15, 16 which holdthe plastic fringe 17 between them and when twisted, twist the fringe tospread the needles 18 in a manner which is well known and needs nofurther description. Said limb member terminates at an intermediate orinterior point as 20 of the branch and does not extend throughout thelength of the complete branch. Instead, the inner end portion of alimb-extending member 21 is suitably secured permanently and rigidly tothe limb member at or adjacent to the intermediate point 20 and isarranged to extend in the general plane of the limb member to form asubstantially coplanar extension thereof. The twig member 21 is made,similarly, of twisted wire and plastic fringe, but the wire thereof isof substantially lesser diameter, and is consequently more pliable andflexible, than that of the limb member.

Should one accidentally walk into the branch, the thinner wire of thetwig member yields much more easily than the thicker wire of the limbmember of the type which extends all the way to the free end of thebranch and danger of injury is thereby materially reduced. The cut endsof the twig wires are also of much lesser area than those of the limbmember whereby the end covering needles of the branch are usuallysufficient to protect the twig ends from injurious direct contact with aperson. Said small area ends are adequately concealed from view by thecovering needles to permit the twigs to perform their decorativefunction with minimum visibility of the otherwise exposed metallic ends.The twig wires are also easily bent to the desired shapes and positionsby means of uniform force exerted thereon since they offer uniformresistance to such bending force.

In addition to the twig member 21, any desired number of additional sidetwigs as 22, 23 all preferably of wires of the same diameter are securedat their inner end parts to the outer end part of the limb member. Thetwig member 21 differs from the side twig members by being arrangedsubstantially coplanar with the limb member regardless of how the sidetwig members are initially arranged alongside the limb member and thenbent transversely. The transverse bending of all the twig membersexcepting the member 21 is usually done by the user to the extentdesired as the tree is assembled, all of the members being fastenedtogether.

In the form shown, the fastening means for the members comprises thesheet metal clip 26 of any suitable type, which surrounds and is wrappedaround and compresses together the inner end parts of the twig membersand the outer end part 27 of the limb member, said parts 25 and 27 beingshown as parallel and overlapping each other. Enough of the needles arecaught between the clip 26 and the various wires of the branch toprevent a substantial area of contact between the metal of the clip andthat of the wires which might permit relative motion therebetweeninvolving dislocation of the parts. In other words, the needles caughtbetween the metallic clip and the wires substantially increase thefriction therebetween and prevents relative rotation of the clip and thewires.

It will be understood however, that any suitable fastening means,metallic or otherwise, strong enough to secure the twig ends to theadjacent limb end and preferably inconspicuous, may be used instead ofthe clip 26.

It will also be understood that while a specific form of the inventionhas herein been shown and described, such form is intended to beillustrative and not limitative of the invention, which is defined bythe appended claims.

I claim:

1. In an artificial Christmas tree having a trunk provided with amultiplicity of blind holes for the reception 0f the ends of artificialbranches, composite branches each having a limb consisting of a pair ofwires terminating in sharp end edges and twisted with plastic fringetherebetween to form needles inclined less than to the axis of the limb,the length of the limb being substantially less than the overall lengthof the branch, a bent end portion on the limb constituting the inner endof the branch and entering one of the holes of the trunk, a first sidetwig consisting of a pair of wires thinner than the wires of the limband twisted with plastic fringe therebetween to form needles inclinedless than 90 to the axis of the twig, a second limb-extending twigsimilar to said first twig, the inner end portions of said twigs beingcoextensive and substantially parallel to and overlapping the outer endof the limb and compacted therewith to conceal and to form guardelements for the sharp end edges of the limb wires, the needles of thelimb and the twigs being inclined outwardly from the respective twistedwires of said limb and twigs and away from the respective inner ends ofsaid limb and twigs, the outermost ends of the twigs being concealed andprotected by the needles adjacent thereto, and a sheet metal clip oflesser length than the overlapped portions of the limb and the twigssurrounding and compressing said overlapped portions with a number ofneedles caught therebetween and thereby fastening said portionspermanently and rigidly together out of direct contact with each otherand resisting relative movement of the clip and said portions in alldirections, the twigs being sufficiently stiff to sustain conventionalChristmas tree loads at the ends thereof.

2. A composite branch for an artificial Christmas tree comprising a limbmember having twisted wires each terminating in a cut sharp Ouer endedge and having plastic needles held by the wires, the needles beingflexible and inclined at an acute angle to the wires and extending awayfrom the inner end edge of the limb, and means :or concealing said sharpedge and for shielding said edge from contact with a person and forsupplying twigs to said limb, said means comprising a multiplicity oftwig members each of thinner twisted wires than the twisted wires of *helimb member and plastic fringe held by the thinner wires and formingfiexible needles inclined from the wires away from the inner end edge ofthe twig member, said means further including a sheet metal clippermanently and rigidly securing, compacting and squeezing together theinner end portions of the twig members and the outer end portion of thelimb member in overlapping relation with a number of said needlesinterposed and producing friction therebetween and between the twigmembers.

3. The composite branch of claim 2, and needles projecting outwardlyfrom the outer ends of the wires of the respective twig members andresisting direct access to and partly concealing the end surfaces of thewires of said twig members.

4. A composite branch for an artificial Christmas tree comprising a limbmember terminating in an end edge within the interior of the branch, andmeans for concealing said edge and shielding said edge from contact witha person and for supplying twig-like elements to said limb, said meanscomprising a multiplicity of twig members Suficient in number and soarranged as to hinder access to said edge and fastening means embracingand compacting under pressure the end portions of s aid twig and limbmembers in overlapping and parallel relation and thereby permanently andrigidly securing said end portions of the members together, each of thetwig members and the limb member comprising twisted wires and plasticfringe held by the wires and forming artificial tree needles extendingtransversely and longitudinally from the wires and inclined at an acuteangle in a direction away from the inner end portions of the respectivemembers, the wires of the twig members being of substantially lesserdiameter and more yieldable than the wires of the limb member, andfriction producing means to reduce the areas of direct contact betweensaid fastening means and the overlapping end portions of the members andbetween the respective end portions of the twig and limb memberscomprising a number of said tree needles projecting from said wires andhaphazardly interposed between said members and the fastening means andbetween said members themselves.

5. The composite branch of claim 4, the members and the fastening meansbeing fixed together against relative rotation and the twig membersbeing of sufciently thin wire to yield on accidental contact with aperson and thereby minimize the danger of injury to the person.

6. The composite branch of claim 4, the needles being relatively softand flexible, the fastening means comprising a relatively thin sheetmetal clip of substantial width wrapped around said end portions of thetwig and limb members into generally cylindrical form and exertingsucient pressure thereon and on the needles interposed therebetween toproduce greater' frictional resistance of smid end portions to movementrelatively to each other than the resistance occurring to such movementin the absence of said interposed needles.

7. A composite branch for an articial Christmas tree comprising a limbmember terminating in a sharp outer end edge constituting a hazard topersons brushing against said edge, and means for concealing and safelyguarding said sharp edge and rendering access thereto difficult, saidmeans comprising a multiplicity of twig members each of twisted wiresand needles projecting transversely from said wires, said means furtherincluding a clip permanently and rigidly embracing the inner endportions of the twig members and the outer end portion of the limbmember and squeezing said end portions together to occupy a minimumspace, said means further including a number of said needles, saidneedles being interposed between the individual twig members and alsobetween the twig members, limb member and the: clip, the needles, twigmembers -and limb member being squeezed together by the clip withsuicient force to prevent relative movement thereof under forces appliedto the twig and limb members in any direction, the limb membercomprising twisted wires of greater diameter than the diameter of thewires of the twig members References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS1,689,530 10/1928 Landers. 2,826,845 3/1958 Warren 41-15 3,085,7744/1963 Di Ienno 248-39 3,278,364 10/1966 Dielenbach 161-22 3,365,5291/1968 Dielfenbach 264--322 FOREIGN PATENTS 585,698 l1/l958 Italy.

JOHN T. GOOLKASIAN, Primary Examiner J. D. SMITH, Assistant ExaminerU.S. CI. X.R. 161-22

